At present, about 39 LPG cylinders seized by the police are lying on the premises of Deccan Gymkhana, Faraskhana and Kothrud police stations.
Disaster management experts have warned Pune police to refrain from keeping inflammables like kerosene and LPG cylinders at police stations.
At present, about 39 LPG cylinders seized by the police are lying on the premises of Deccan Gymkhana, Faraskhana and Kothrud police stations.
All these police stations are located in densely populated areas surrounded by residential and commercial complexes.
Experts say keeping such substances is unsafe and could lead to a mishap similar to the one that took place at the office of the Haveli Tehsil located in Shukrawar Peth.
On January 6, there was an outbreak of fire in that office where two jars filled with kerosene were kept. Although the reason for the outbreak of the fire is yet to be ascertained, the inflammables kept there, abetted the fire. Documents related to the land records of Baner area were destroyed in the mishap.
The director of Centre for Disaster Management at Yashwantrao Chavan Academy of Development Administration (YASHADA), Bharat Bhushan, said it is not advisable to keep such inflammables in any public place.
“Such items should be stored in a room set up in an isolated place. The police can seek permission from the court about this
initiative in order to protect people and properties,” Bhushan suggested.
According to him, in case there is no alternative, the police must adhere to standard operating practices (SOP) under quality management system or environment management system under which it should be ensured that there is no possibility of outbreak of fire from such inflammable material.
Echoing similar views, the founder president of Rashtriya Life Saving Society (RLSI) Rear Admiral (retd), Purushottam Sharma, said cops should empty LPG cylinders in case they are keeping them on the premises of police stations.
“It is risky to keep such items on the premises of police stations. Such items should be kept in an isolated area to prevent mishaps,” he added.
While 19 LPG cylinders are kept at the Deccan Gymkhana police station, about 15 are kept at the Kothrud police station. At Faraskhana police station, there are about half a dozen cylinders.
Officials at the Deccan Gymkhana police station said these cylinders were seized in 2007 for illegal use.
“We wanted to dispose of the cylinders and had written thrice to the court seeking permission to hand them over to respective companies. But the court ordered that they should be kept as it is until the case is not disposed of,” police officials said.
Initially, the cylinders were stored in the godown of the police station. But later, they were taken out and kept in the open.
The deputy commissioner of police (Zone I), Dnyaneshwar Phadtare, said, “We have locked them and kept them in such a way that nobody can easily access them. The constable, who sits outside the police station, has been directed to keep an eye over them.’’
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